French truckers lift blockades, ending six-day fuel tax protest

PARIS - French truckers began lifting nationwide blockades at oil refineries and fuel depots Saturday after union leaders unanimously called for an end to a six-day protest that has strangled fuel supplies, causing airport delays and chaos at gas stations.

With a majority of France's gas stations still dry, however, the removal of blockades was not expected to ease immediately the plight of motorists, who have had to line up bumper-to-bumper to fill their tanks.

France's second-largest trucker group, UNOSTRA, was the last of the three unions leading the protests to call an end to action, asking members Saturday to remove blockades, saying union leaders had accepted a government offer to cut fuel taxes.

The leftist government offered Wednesday to give truckers a 20-cent reimbursement per gallon of fuel this year, and a 14-cent refund per gallon on gasoline taxes next year. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, under pressure from Green Party members of his coalition, vowed that no further concessions would be made.

— 12/31/1969

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